Between 2018 and 2021, the Buffalo Sabres pulled off four major blockbuster trades that have since built the Blue and Gold’s foundation.
The Buffalo Sabres pulled off four incredible trades between 2018 and 2021, starting with the Ryan O’Reilly deal and culminating with the Jack Eichel trade. As a result of these trades, the Sabres have received 10 players and prospects, building not only their main roster, but also a dynamic prospects pool.
Now that each trade is in the rearview, let’s break down what the Sabres got in return for O’Reilly, Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Rasmus Ristolainen, and predict how each player and prospect will help the organization. Not everyone listed below will wear a blue and gold uniform in a regular season game, and not everyone will be in the Queen City forever. But that doesn’t mean they won’t help the Sabres. Let’s meet our 10 players and prospects.
10 players and prospects that helped build the Buffalo Sabres
10 – Anton Wahlberg
There are some eerie correlations between the Anton Wahlberg and Jiri Kulich picks. General manager Kevyn Adams tried to trade back up to get them in back-to-back seasons, failed, but they fell to him anyway.
Both impressed during their initial development camps, and they have both become immediate fan favorites in the prospects pool. The only real difference is that Wahlberg will remain in Sweden for at least another season before he embarks to North America.
But given the 6’3, 190 lb forward’s size, he will be fun to watch once he’s over in Rochester and acclimating to the North American game. Overall, I’m expecting Wahlberg to eventually work his way onto the Sabres.
9 – Noah Ostlund
Noah Ostlund was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and a product of the Jack Eichel trade. He has a lot of backers, but Ostlund is also the likeliest trade piece on this list, considering that he is spending another year in Sweden as opposed to making his AHL debut in 2023-24 as one of a few reasons.
The decision to play in the SHL will help his development long-term, meaning the Blue and Gold could deal him to a team that’s still in rebuilding mode for a potential high-impact prospect toward the 2024 trade deadline. There is also the fact that Ostlund is looking up at quite a few centers in the prospects pool and in the Sabres lineup at the moment, further indicating he could be a trade piece.
8 – Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson was a product of that 2019 Ryan O’Reilly trade, as the Sabres used their acquired first round pick to select him 31st overall. Johnson’s status with the team, however, remained a mystery until he finally signed his entry-level contract earlier in the offseason.
This year, he will get his first taste of professional hockey in the AHL with the Rochester Americans, and the upcoming year will give us good insight of how far he is away from seeing the NHL ice. Although he’s only ranked eighth at the moment, Johnson could wind up as an integral part of the Buffalo Sabres lineup in time.